~ Day by day with RA …

It’s Official – A New Shoulder Comin’

Well, it’s official, although not scheduled. The left shoulder will be replaced. The CT scan showed that not only is the cartilage gone in my shoulder joint, the head of the arm (humerus) has slipped slightly and is grinding a new indentation into the shoulder socket (glenoid). Unfortunately, the longer we wait, the more deformed the glenoid becomes and the more difficult it is to repair for the replacement parts.

I’m really not happy about this, but it is the right decision. It just doesn’t seem possible that I’ve lost this joint in such a short time. It was fine before I had the hip replacement surgery. Then when I started using my upper body to push myself up in bed, use my walker then my cane, my shoulder started hurting. Unfortunately it never got better.

We’ll be doing a “regular” not “reverse” shoulder replacement and the success with the type of implant they’re using seems to be very good. My surgeon does more of this type of surgery in a month than most do in a lifetime, so I’m in good hands.

I think the surgery will be done in the surgical center, although that’s to be determined. It will be strange having surgery anywhere but Presbyterian Dallas. Normal time in the hospital is 2 days after surgery. I am hopeful to be able to start working from home the week after surgery.

Now that I’m an employee I have to figure out how all this PTO (personal time off), disability, etc. works. After 7 calendar days, I get 60% disability payment, but if I start to work, even part time the week after surgery, I don’t know that disability will kick in. Lots of things to figure out. Being a consultant was simpler. If I didn’t work, I didn’t get paid.

The good news is that they’re not going to recommend that I donate blood ahead of time. Those of you who have read my blog during the hip replacement surgery period understand what a trauma it is for me to give blood or have any type of needle in my vein.

I’ll update the blog as things get scheduled and we move forward. Thanks for checking in.

Sharon: I’ve had two shoulder surgeries — the first for a biceps tendon issue, and now the total replacement. My surgeon told me AFTER the first one that shoulder surgeries are some of the most painful procedures. But with proper pain management, I was fine. I’m doing okay. It’s been almost six months and I still have limited mobility and strength — but it’s better than before the surgery and my doc says it will take up to a year to completely heal. I had my hip replaced about 8 months before my shoulder and I was up walking around the next day and walking without a cane within a couple of weeks. I was expecting the same kind of rapid recovery with my shoulder, but it’s a much longer, slower recovery. I have to say that I haven’t been the best patient about doing my exercises (I work 60-70 hour weeks in corporate America), but I have faith that it will get better over time. I’m basically able to do my day-to-day activities, but it’s that occasional stretch out the window at the bank or parking lot, or trying to get something off a tall shelf that throws me.

I wish you the best with your surgery. Please check back and let me know how you’re doing, and if I can offer any help or insight, I’ll be happy to. It’s easy to find a lot of information on hip and knee replacements, but there’s not a lot of first-person advice on shoulders. (PS: You want to get one of those backscratcher things. It’s great because you won’t be able to reach a lot of places and you can also use it as a reacher. Trust me on this one. :-)